Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Chef Ron : homely food prepared with love

This is an interesting stall manned by Ronnie Ng, also known as Chef Ron and his mother-in-law serving a certain selection of Ipoh specialties. Despite naming the stall after him but the actual chef is his mother-in-law. Nonetheless, Ronnie is the chef in the midst of training, he is locally born and bred but his mother-in-law is from Ipoh and they started this stall about 5 months ago.

I asked for a recommendation as I could not decide between having Ipoh Curry Noodle and Ipoh Dry Curry Noodle. The friendly Auntie said, "If you like some soup to drink then Curry Noodle is nice if not then would be Dry Curry Noodle". I decided to go with the Dry Curry Noodle as this dish is not commonly found in Singapore. Both are priced at just $4.00, which I think it is of pretty good value.

I was telling Ronnie that it is difficult to find a good Ipoh Curry Noodle in Singapore after trying the existing few and none has met my expectations. He suggested I should considering visiting Ipoh as they are many street foods to try.

This was my first time eating the Dry Curry Noodle so there would not be any prior comparison. I was asked to choose between the yellow noodle and bee hoon but Auntie recommended a mixture of both for textural contrast. It consists of the handmade charsiew, sio bak, chicken and added the homemade curry sauce then garnished with fresh mint leaves that they have grown it themselves.

Their secret ingredient that contributed to the authenticity of this dish is the black soy sauce from Ipoh which giving it a rather home-cooked feel particularly to those Malaysian living in Singapore. Most of the items are homemade.

The gravy did not taste like the usual Chinese curry but slightly thicker and less coconut flavor, even so, it was aromatic with a mild spiciness.

I was offered a small bowl of Braised Pork with White Radish for tasting purpose. I would guess pineapple is part of their ingredients in this dish as I could taste the combination of sweetness and a little sour zestiness amidst the savory notes and a mild level of spiciness. The flavor-rich white radish was a nice accompaniment.

Other than Curry Mee, there are also Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak, Assam Laksa, Curry Chicken with Rice, Superior Soya Sauce Chicken with Rice, Superior Soya Sauce Pork at $4 each and also Bak Chang. If you are looking for homely food prepared with love, give this stall a try.